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November 20, 2016

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Home » Sunday » Home and Design

For Italian studio founder, every project is personal

Source: Shanghai Daily | November 20, 2016, Sunday | Print Edition

WHO is he?

Davide Conti is the founder and head of design at Davide Conti Design Studio, an interior, furniture and product design studio based in Italy and China. He is also the general manager of ADI in China, an Italian design association started in 1956 in Milan.

Tell us some of your works, and name the one you are most proud of.

I’ll be honest, there is no projects I’m not proud of. That’s thanks to my teachers in Italy, because they taught me to respect every projects, every clients, the details, the work, and to love my profession. Thanks to this way of thinking, I love every one of my designs. By the way, one of my favorites is the office for WyScout in my hometown. WyScout is an international firm with the most famous football teams in the world as clients (Barcelona, Milan, Arsenal, Liverpool, Bayer Munchen and Real Madrid). It was exciting to work for them first because their headquarters is in my hometown, and second because it is the most important company in their field in the world.

Are you currently involved with any projects?

Fortunately, yes. Our studio is growing month by month and that make me very busy, but also very happy because I understand our love for details, quality and our clients is the right path to follow. Our studio in Italy is now working on new apartments and villas in Milan, Rome and Florence... We are also working with our clients in Italy to develop a new furniture collection because they want exclusive pieces that are unique and of high-quality.

In China, the market is a little different and we are working on model houses and big villas in Shanghai. We are also working to develop cooperations in other city, like Hangzhou, Beijing, Guanzghou, Shenzhen and Wuhan.

Describe your design style.

I love the Italian style; clean and beautiful, functional and contemporary, simple and pure. That for me is my favorite style, the one I know best. The Italian style is something that will never die in me. I also love other styles like Chinese, Swedish, Japanese and Danish. I love the details and finding original ways to design for my clients.

I consider people special and unique, so when we design with my team we want to do something original and special for every one of them. Design is something unique, otherwise it’s just a copy without any value.

Where are you most creative?

It can be anywhere. I love nature, beauty, art, travel, and discovery... so really I can be anywhere and be very creative. But there is one condition I need to be very creative, and that condition is curiosity for life. If I’m not curious, I can’t be creative.

What does your home mean to you?

Home for me means one thing: me and my family. I can be at home when there is something that helps me feel at peace and safe, happy and relaxed.

What do you collect?

I collect many little design objects in Italy. Since I was a young student, I started to collect paintings from young Chinese artists. I love Chinese art... inside there is the essence of the country. To collect young Chinese artist, for me, is something so beautiful and also my way to push out their talents.

Where would you like to go most in Shanghai?

I always like to discover new places in Shanghai, from the tallest buildings to the smallest houses in the city. Puxi is the most interesting area for me. I love to see the old buildings, and learn more about the story of this city.

What will be the next big design trend?

Design is a big field. Do you mean the next trend in industrial design? Interior design? Car design? This is not an easy question because is a little bit general for me, but I can say one thing, I hope the next trend in design will be people.

I hope designers can concentrate on designs for the people; men and women. Now design is commercial; something for business. People need something special, something they want.

Design, since the beginning, was a discipline to make people happy. We can’t forget that.

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